Covering units adapted for protective and/or decorative covering of selected parts of a motor vehicle body have been heretofore utilized, and have included covers for portions of the front fenders, hood, bumper area, including grill work thereat, and/or headlamps housings (such covers often being referred to as "masks" or "bras").
For example, such covers have included one-piece covers for covering some or all of the above-described areas (for example, products manufactured by Covercraft Industries, Inc., Kar King Manufacturing, Inc., Colgan Custom Manufacturing, and Perfect Fit). Such covers, while having met with at least some acceptance, have often proven to be difficult and time consuming to install, have required substantial removal of parts of the cover to gain access to vehicle compartments such as the engine compartment, and/or have not always conformed well to vehicle body contours, particularly over time as the cover material and/or connectors expand, contract, and/or are stretched or otherwise distorted due to long term use, repeated removal and reattachment thereof, and/or exposure to moisture, wind, heat, cold, and other recurring natural conditions experienced during use of the cover.
By way of further example, two-piece covers, or masks, have been heretofore utilized for covering portions of the front fenders and bumper area and, separately, the engine compartment hood area of an automobile (for example, products manufactured by American Stitchco., Inc., Kayline Manufacturing, Bestop, Inc., and the Farber Company). While such two-piece units have in general not required substantial removal of the mask in order to gain access to the engine compartment, many of the other difficulties encountered with one-piece covers have not been satisfactorily addressed. For example, the use of multiple connections, including a plurality of bendable metallic tabs sewn in the cover for attachment thereof at each wheel well structure and/or connectors between the cover and front bumper area, for maintaining the cover portions on the vehicle, contributes to a more difficult and time consuming installation procedure. Means for improved and longer term cover conformity to vehicle body contours and security of the cover thereon while the vehicle is in motion (i.e., reduction of cover flapping or flutter and the like) are further improvements which could still be utilized.
Such covers have also included covers for vehicle headlamps housings, including those which are movable between stored and operative positions, (for example, products manufactured by Bestop, Inc., Covercraft Industries, Kar King Manufacturing, Inc., Colgan Custom Manufacturing, Perfect Fit, and American Stitchco, Inc.). Such headlamps housing covers heretofore known, however, have often proven difficult to install, have been subject to flapping or fluttering when the vehicle is in motion, and/or have required manual manipulation and securement to accommodate movement of such movable housings between positions.
Thus, while protective and/or decorative covers for motor vehicles have been heretofore utilized, improvements in such covers could nevertheless still be utilized.